Vehicle-brake.



No. 683,739. Patented Oct. I, [BUL S. M; FALCDNER.

VEHICLE BRAKE [Application filed Apr. 18, 1901.;

(No Model.)

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UNITE STATES FFICE.

SYDNOR M. FALCONER, OF DINWVIDDIE COUNTY, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-Tl-IIRDS TO RICHARD J. MEAGHER, OF \VASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

VEHICLE-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 683,739, dated October 1, 1901.

Application filed April 18, 1901.

To all whom.- it may concern.-

Beitknown that I, SYDNOR M. FALOONER, a citizen of the United States, residing in the county of Dinwiddie and State of Virginia,

(post-office address, \Vashington, District of Columbia,) have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Brakes; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to vehicle-brakes, and has for its object to provide an automatic brake for carriages and wagons which shall be simple and durable in construction, efli- 2o cient in operation, which may be produced at a comparatively slight cost, and which may be readily applied to either a new or an old vehicle.

My improved brake is of that type designed 2 5 to be applied to the front wheels of a vehicle by the action of the team when backing or when an extraordinary pull upon the reins is exerted. When the team is being riven forward, the brake is automatically released 0 by the pull upon the doubletree or brake-bar.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side View of the tongue or pole and front wheels of a wagon or vehicle and showing my improved brake attached to said tongue or pole. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 1 1, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line 2 2, Fig. 1.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates 0 the pole or tongue, 2 the front wheels, and 3 the hounds, of a wagon orothervehicle. These parts may be of the ordinary or any suitable construction.

Secured to the upper surface of the pole 1 are the grooved guides 4 4, one, 4, being bolted to the pole back near the hounds and the other, 4, being attached near the front end of the pole. These guides are each formed of a single piece of metal having upwardly Serial No. 56,424. (No model.)

7 and outwardly flaring-sides, being substan- 5o tially V-shaped in cross-section, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Fitted to move freely upon these guides are the slides 5 5, and, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, these slides engage the guides 4 4 by their converging side walls, which. fit against the outer surface of the guides. The front slide 5 is provided with a loop 6, and

to this loop a neck-yoke ring 7 is attached. To the rear slide 5 a brake-bar 8 is pivoted at 9, said brake-bar having the brake-shoes S secured thereto. Said brake-bar serves also as a doubletree and has the singletrees 10 connected thereto in any suitable manner.

A connecting-rod 11 is secured at its opposite ends to the slides 5 5 and passes through keepers 12, rising from the pole and secured thereto by bolts or other fastenings. The ends of the connecting-rod 11 are threaded, and nuts 13 are used to adjust the slides 5 5 closer together or farther apart, as found desirable under varying conditions.

The operation of my automatic brake is as follows: When the team is being driven on a smooth or level road, the slides 5 5 are moved toward the front end of the pole in the position shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2. When descending a hill or when the driver exerts an extraordinary pull upon the reins, the slides move backward until the brakeshoes 8 come in contact with the front wheels and effectually brake the speed of the vehicle. It will be noticed that the brake-shoes are applied to the front wheel on a horizontal line above the axle, and as a result of this arrangement the revolution of the Wheels when the vehicle is driven forward has a tendency to throw the brake-shoes away from the wheels a sufficient distance to impart only a retard ing action to the vehicle. The dotted lines in Fig. 1 indicate the position of the parts when the brake is applied. A stop-pin 14 is attached to one end of a chain 15, the opposite end of said chain being secured to the pole, and when it is desired to render the brake in operative the stoppin is inserted in a hole in 5 the guide 4 and in the tongue immediately back of the slide 5. When traveling upon level roads and with a reliable team, it may be found desirable to render the brake inoperative by applying the stop-pin 14.

From the foregoing it Will be obvious that myimproved automatic brake may be readily attached to an old or new vehicle, and if applied to an old vehicle no changes are necessary in any part of the vehicle, only the boltholes in the pole being required.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is 1. A vehicle-brake comprising guides secured to the pole at points nearits forward and rear ends,a slide fitting over the forward guide, a neck-yoke ring carried thereby, a slide fitting over the rear guide, a combined brakebar and doubletree pivotally secured to the rear slide, brake-shoes carried by said brakebar at a point above the wheel-axle, a connecting-rod adj ustably secured at its ends to the slides, and a stop-pin designed to fit in an opening in the rear guide back of said rear slide to render the brake inoperative, substantially as described.

2. The combination in an automatic vehicle-brake, of the guides 4, & each formed of single pieces of metal having upwardly and outwardly flaring sides, and secured-to the top of the pole at or near the front and rear ends thereof, neck-yoke ring 7 carried by the forward slide, a combined brake-bar and doubletree 8, pivotally secured to the rear slide 5, brake-shoes \3 secured to the outer ends of said brake-bar at a point above the wheel-axle, 

